


Business as Usual

by Deonara2012



Category: U-KISS
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-16
Updated: 2012-11-16
Packaged: 2017-11-18 19:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deonara2012/pseuds/Deonara2012
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, hiding in plain sight is HARD.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Business as Usual

**Author's Note:**

> So not Mine, So not True
> 
> Thanks to Kara for the title.

Soohyun realized he was short one only when they reached the van. Tired in body and mind - the day had been grueling - he counted once more, then nudged Kiseop, who looked at him with eyes only half open. "Am I really brain dead, or is Eli not here?"

Kiseop blinked at him, then looked around, counting under his breath (but still loud enough that SooHyun could hear him, a sign of his exhaustion). "Nope, Eli's not here."

"Damn," Soohyun muttered, and climbed back out. "Make him wait for us."

"Gotcha," Kiseop said, and immediately closed his eyes.

SooHyun went in again, fuming. DongHo had already fallen asleep, and getting him up was nearly impossible after a day like today. It was so unlike Eli to do this.

In the elevator he went from fuming to worried. What if something had happened, and no one had noticed? What kind of leader was he, if that were the case?

By the time he reached the rehearsal room, he'd swung back to angry because if Eli wasn't hurt or didn't have a very good explanation, he'd explode.

SooHyun yanked the door open and froze.

Eli lay flat on his back, hands wrapped around the wrists of a man who was obviously trying to stab him, straddling his hips, the knife tip brushing Eli's chest. The man looked toward SooHyun, who stepped back at the sight of the hideous mask he wore, a swirl of deep blue and purple, scarlet horns above his ears.

"Out!" Eli snapped, and Soohyun reacted without thought, closing the door. The last thing he saw was the man going over as Eli rolled away, more in control of the knife.

SooHyun stared at the closed door (somewhere in the back of his head he was glad no one else was around because he must look like an idiot), still trying to process that. Why would someone... No. Maybe it was some sort of test? Eli was proficient in Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do....

Eli came out of the door quickly but without slamming it open, barely missing SooHyun as it was. "What..." he started, but Eli grabbed his wrist and took off at a run, shutting the door behind him. SooHyun didn't fight him until he ran past the elevator. Then he planted his feet, practically yanking Eli back into him and knocking them both over. "I'm not...."

"One floor," Eli interrupted, and pulled him back into motion. SooHyun followed, more because it was all so surreal.... True to his word, Eli stopped to wait at the elevator on the next floor down. Only then did he let SooHyun's wrist go.

"What was that?" SooHyun asked, once they'd boarded the empty elevator and the doors had closed.

Eli looked at him an instant, then leaned against the wall, eyes closed. "What?"

SooHyun stared at him, then pointed in the general direction of their practice room. "That guy looked like he wanted to kill you!"

"Oh. Yeah."

SooHyun was far too tired for this. "Yeah? Eli, what is going on?"

The elevator dinged a moment before the doors slid open, and Eli ushered SooHyun out. With a sigh, he went, climbing into the van. Eli got in next to Hoon, the door shut, and they were off.

Finally.

Kevin couldn't seem to sit still, though, continually turning around to look at the guys in the back seat. At least Kiseop was between them, and he'd already fallen asleep. Out of the corner of his eye, SooHyun thought he caught Kevin's fingers moving in some sort of...

Okay. He was WAY too tired for this, and now he was imagining things. He shut his eyes, ignoring that four of his group - over half - didn't seem to be as dead tired as the rest of them (how?), and seemed to be holding a conversation without actually saying anything.

"Sorry, hyung," Kevin whispered softly, and SooHyun almost opened his eyes to ask what he was apologizing for, but that took more energy than he had, and the noises around him faded as he fell asleep.

 

The van stopped in front of Eli's first, something they never did, but Hoon didn't think they could wait. DongHo and Kiseop had been asleep before they left, and Kevin had nudged SooHyun to sleep - something he didn't like to do, but it was necessary - and the driver knew how to get the others awake.

Eli got out first and almost didn't get out of the way before falling, catching himself with one hand, the other pressed to his stomach and chest. That did not look good. Hoon shoved AJ out and aside, going to help Eli up. AJ waited for Kevin, falling into step behind him as Hoon helped Eli into his building and then his apartment.

"What was it?" Hoon demanded as soon as they were inside the apartment.

"Karach demon," Eli murmured, his coordination deteriorating as he tried to get his shoes off. "Had to kill it."

Hoon winced. That would make it harder. "Why?"

"It saw Soohyun and would have gone after him if I hadn't."

Kevin knelt down and pulled Eli's shoes off, standing up to put his slender shoulders under Eli's other arm. "Couch?" he asked.

"Yes," Hoon replied, and they walked over, dragging Eli with them. He still tried to help, but the Karach demon poison - not to mention the damage it could do with its blade - was working its way into his system and Hoon hadn't even figured out where he was hurt yet.

Once they had Eli on the free-standing couch, Kevin moved to the back of it and raised both hands over his head. A bright light started in them, cascading down in a dome around the couch to encompass Eli, Hoon, and himself. AJ, Hoon knew, even if he couldn't see him, prowled around the outside to keep them safe.

Only in that bubble could Eli truly drop his glamour and let Hoon see what the damage was. Fingers shaking, he was so TIRED, Hoon got Eli's shirt open and gaped. "What did it do?" he asked, carefully outlining the burns he could see that dipped below his waistline.

"Caught me off guard," Eli murmured. "Pinned me down and sat on me."

Hoon swore in all the languages he knew - but in his head - as he carefully pulled the shirt off Eli's arms, baring more burns there, catching sight of a few on his back. So much.... So many places for the poison to get in. He shed his own glamour to concentrate on healing, fingertips resting lightly on Eli's chest to find all the damage, and he closed his eyes. Legs, too, and... crap. He swore again, this time out loud.

"Hoon?" Kevin asked.

Oops. At least it hadn't gotten him with its knife. "I can't..." He took a deep breath and looked up. "I can't do anything, I don't have anything. I can keep him alive, I can keep it from killing him for a while, but eventually I'm going to fail and he'll be gone." He hadn't kept any reserves back, none of them had - he was pretty sure as soon as this was done, whatever they did, Kevin would collapse (Kevin's father would kill them if he found out, but they were doing the best they could) - but somehow....

"AJ?" Kevin asked, exhaustion lacing his voice. Too soon. Way too soon.

"He doesn't have anything either, and we need him out there to make sure we survive this," Hoon pointed out. "You're lighting up the night for anyone who knows what to look for."

Kevin smirked. "I figured out how to mask it. What do you need?"

"Energy. I can't... I haven't anything to give, and what I do have isn't enough to keep him alive. You'd lose both of us."

"Not acceptable," Kevin said, and closed his eyes.

Hoon focused back on Eli, trying to keep the poison from his heart and his brain - anything else, given time and energy, he could repair - to keep him alive. He could hear Kevin's call, and two answers, one positive and one negative. Of course. Xander wouldn't be able to come; he'd been reassigned.

He closed his eyes, dropping into a trance that would allow him to monitor Eli better, so he heard but didn't register the conversation he heard a moment later.

"No. Both of you. I'll survive this." Kevin, his mind told him a moment later.

"If you're sure?"

"Yes."

Hands rested on Hoon's shoulders, fingers brushing the bare skin on his neck, and he had access to energy, doubled.... Oh. This would work. He breathed a word of thanks and apology to both men behind him, and set to chasing the poison out of Eli, hands flat on his chest. The body under his hands bucked and twisted, the poison fighting him, but eventually he won, sagging against the edge of the couch. The burns would heal in time, and no one would see them anyway....

"He's done." He did know that voice, vaguely. Maybe? He felt Kevin's spell lift, erasing the portal between their worlds, and his glamour settled around him again even as Eli's did. He opened his eyes, and then blinked to try to get them to focus. It failed.

"I thought more people were here?" he asked as AJ helped Kevin around to the front of the couch to sit down next to Hoon.

"They went with the gate," Kevin murmured, and sighed. "I could sleep for a week."

"You can't," AJ said, voice rough with exhaustion.

Hoon didn't even hear if Kevin answered.

 

Eli woke slowly, trying to remember where he was and what had happened. He remembered... the demon, and SooHyun, and getting out of the van, but anything beyond that was... blurry at best, and he didn't remember even getting his shoes off.

Oh, wait, yes he did. Kevin had done it.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, taking in the light streaked across his living room ceiling, the sound of other people in the room, all asleep from their breathing. He turned his head to look, and had to stop before he got very far. It hurt. A lot.

Everything hurt - okay, maybe there was a hair on his head that didn't, but it'd hurt to try and find it. He closed his eyes again and tried to take some sort of inventory. The best he could come up with was the same as he'd decided just a moment ago. Everything hurt. Okay. Take that into consideration, and figure out what to do next.

Did he have to actually do anything? The light across his ceiling wasn't sunlight, which meant it was still night. The people he could hear sleeping around him obviously didn't want to hurt him, or they would have - probably Hoon, Aj (did he remember AJ?), and Kevin. Because Hoon had taken care of him, and AJ wouldn't have left Kevin unguarded, so he had to be there.

Soft footsteps crossed the floor toward him, and then around the back of the couch. "You should sleep."

Eli squinted and then had to stop when it hurt. "Kibum-hyung?"

"Yes. Go back to sleep, Eli."

Well, if Kibum were here, then... things were okay. He closed his eyes and did as he was told.

Sunlight in his eyes woke Eli up, although he was pretty sure that was impossible. He was facing the wrong way, and was way too far into the apartment....

"He's waking up."

"Stop it, hyung. That's cruel."

"You have far too little cruelty in your lives."

Eli got his arm up to cover his eyes before the pain hit, and groaned. "Go away, hyung," he murmured.

"Nope. Time to get up." But Kibum's hand on his arm was gentle, and he carefully helped Eli sit up.

"A karach demon isn't cruelty enough?" Kevin demanded.

"That's not cruelty. That's just pain. There's a difference."

"The outcome's the same," Eli stated, and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the mirror in Kibum's hand, and another one in HyungJoon's, who stood next to the window. That's where the sunlight had come from. "Although the cruelty seems more petty, in light of what happened." He rubbed his eyes, trying to get them to work better.

He was glad he looked before putting his feet on the floor; Hoon was still out cold, stretched out on the floor right next to the couch. Someone had raided his bedroom - probably Kibum - because he recognized the blanket covering him. He leaned against the back of the couch. "How much trouble are we in?" he asked.

"Why would you be in trouble?" Kevin asked, picking his way past AJ - also still asleep - to give Eli a mug of tea.

"Hoon couldn't have done anything about that poison if you hadn't created a doorway," Eli pointed out, and sipped. Too hot, too bitter, he didn't care. It was warm, and it had everything he needed to keep going today. "I suspect they're here because of that." He nodded at the brothers, who stood conversing at the window.

"My father was not happy, no," Kevin said, and Eli stiffened just a bit - and almost groaned at sore muscles - just because it was not so good to speak so casually. "But he understood when I explained it to him." Eli didn't know if he believed that, but if Kevin said they were okay for possibly endangering the heir - Kevin - then they were. He was more stubborn than his father, something the monarch attributed to his living here. Eli could understand why.

"Which is the only reason he's up and about right now," HyungJoon said. "Otherwise he'd be as dead as Hoon, there."

"I'm not dead," Hoon muttered, but he didn't move.

"You are, and you know it," Kevin said gently. "So's AJ, if less so."

"How much is SooHyun-hyung going to remember?" Eli asked, and took another sip of his tea.

"Probably not too much," Kevin said. "But I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?" Eli asked.

"I was a bit distracted," Kevin said.

"Only a bit," AJ said, and then groaned as he sat up. "Eli-hyung, your floor needs some padding."

"The bed was empty," Eli pointed out.

"Too far," Hoon murmured.

AJ laughed. "Yes," he agreed. "Even if Hoon couldn't have made it anywhere but where he is."

"I'm not moving my bed into the living room," Eli stated.

"Why not?" AJ asked, all innocence.

Eli glared at him. "Because that would just cause more questions than I want to answer," he said.

Kibum showed up with two more mugs of tea then, handing one to AJ and setting the other on the floor next to Hoon. "Come on, up," he said, and gently helped Hoon to sit up. Hoon suddenly pulled away, looking quite a bit more awake.

"Don't do that," he said, and Eli blinked at them both over the rim of his mug.

"Why not?" Kibum asked. "You have to do things today, and I don't. A little energy sharing never hurts."

"Well, technically...."

"Shut up, hyung, I said a little," Kibum said without missing beat, and HyungJoon chuckled. "You got pretty drained last night, even with our help," Kibum went on. "A karach demon is no joke, and the poison from a dead one is worse. You're going to need some help. All of you will," he added, "except maybe Kevin."

"No, I'm good," Kevin said, and Eli wanted to throw something at him, but he hadn't finished his tea and he happened to like this mug.

"Drink that," Kibum ordered Hoon, pointing to the mug next to him. "It'll help." He glanced at AJ, who held his up in a toast before drinking. Hoon picked it up and sipped without making a face. Oh, right, he liked things bitter. Eli went back to his own tea and finished it off, then started to get up, now that Hoon wasn't under his feet. It took a moment to actually get moving, his burns pulling in all sorts of uncomfortable ways, but he finally managed to stand up.

HyungJoon caught his arm when he stumbled, shaking his head. "Of all of them, I expected you to move last," he said, helping Eli into his bedroom.

"I want a shower," Eli said. "We have to get moving, and I don't even know how we're going to explain this...."

"AJ can get Kevin home and then himself. Hoon might be harder...." HyungJoon shrugged. "And if everyone was asleep, you can say you just had him over so he didn't have to go all the way home."

True, Hoon was usually the last to be let off.... "Maybe," Eli said. There was something wrong with that, but he couldn't think what. Maybe the shower would help.

By the time he got out, though, everyone had gone. Well... fine. He spent the next while straightening the mess that was left, getting mugs to the kitchen. He'd gone on to figuring out what he might need for the day (hard because he couldn't remember the schedule for the day), and his phone rang.

"Where are you? We've been waiting down here," SooHyun snapped when he answered it.

"Coming down," Eli said, and went to cram his feet in his shoes to head down to the van.


End file.
